What If They Weren't Blueberries?
by Pandonia Jeanette
Summary: "The world turned red. And just like that, it wasn't an act any more."
1. Chapter 1

"What are you going to do?" Judy spat, not even a hint of fear in her voice. "Kill me?" Now, this bunny really was a real cop. She's so defiant it was admirable. It was also probably contagious, since even being thrown in a pit with an evil mastermind looming over you doesn't seem to worry me all too much.

Until Bellwether started laughing, with a sick victorious tone. "No, of course not." She cocked the gun and took aim. "He is."

The bullet fired and pain stuck my neck. Judy cried out my name, and her caring paws were on my shoulder. I clawed at my own fur, trying to get the blue stain off. Quite difficult when you have to pretend a small little blueberry was a drug that was supposed to make you lose your sanity.

"Yes? Police!" That was Bellwether ringing up ZPD. This actually makes things easier for us. Which means I should thank her once I get out of this exhibit. "There's a savage fox in the Natural History Museum! Officer Hopps is down! Please hurry!"

Hopps? A rabbit? Down?

Judy was still next to me, telling me to fight off the effects of the serum. I could hear her. But I could hear something else . . . Another voice inside me. A call . . . A need.

 _Attack her._

What?

 _Hunt her._

Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. The stains on my neck suddenly burned, hot and wild. It was followed by the sickening realization: that bullet was no blueberry.

"Nick, don't do this," said Judy, close to me. She said something else, too. But I couldn't hear her. I only heard the savage howl inside.

 _Kill her._

I caught the scent of frightened prey. My muscles twitched.

 _Kill her. Kill her. Kill her. Kill her. Kill her._

The world turned red. And just like that, it wasn't an act any more.

* * *

The second Judy saw Nick's green eyes snap open, she whirled around, got on her good paws and dashed across the exhibit. She gasped once, risking a glance over her shoulder. Nick's fangs were bared as he tried to trap her in his claws.

Judy repressed the need for panic, remembering all those hours she had spent dealing with fear back at the academy. This was nothing. Nick had her back. They were faking it. She'd let herself be cornered and then goad a confession out of Bellwether. That was the plan. All she had to do was stick to the plan.

And that Nick was a damn convincing actor.

Above them, she heard Bellwether, still chuckling to herself. "Gosh, think of the headlines! 'Hero Cop Killed by Savage Fox!'"

Judy's bad leg got the best of her, and she tripped over one of the fake stones. She sprawled onto the floor. She flipped herself upright and now Nick was right in front of her. This was it. With panicked fingers, Judy stumbled for the carrot pen in her pocket.

 _Stay calm_ , she told herself as she backed herself into the wall. Nick inched closer. There was something different in him. Something . . . dangerous. Judy blinked the moment of doubt away. She had to trust him. Instead, she directed her focus to Bellwether.

"So that's it? Prey fears predator and you stay in power?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Bellwether answered.

Judy needed the sheep to say more. "It won't work!"

"Fear _always_ works." Bellwether lifted up the gun for good measure. "And I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way."

That was it. They got what they needed. Judy released the record button on the pen, just as Nick made it inches in front of her. She expected him to stop snarling any second now. Another step closer. He was still glaring at her, with those murderous, bloodshot eyes.

And that was when the fear slammed into her. "Nick . . . ?"

Her voice must have done something. Because the fox leapt back, almost as if he was stung by a viper. Then his paws were over his head, raking his ears.

Bellwether guffawed in triumph above them. "Did you really think I wouldn't check the ammo of my own gun before I fired it? It was a very valiant effort, Judy, I'll give you that. You really would make a good cop. If you weren't going to be mauled in the next minute."

Her breaths heavy and short, Judy dared to call out to him. "Nick! Fight it!" Bellwether had called ZPD. All Judy had to do now was last long enough until Chief Bogo got there. She lifted herself to her feet. If she made it out, she'd be a hero. But none of it would matter without her partner. "Nick!"

"Carrots . . . " Nick's voice was a strained croak. It was weak and raw Judy heard the battle raging inside of him. A battle he was losing. "Judy," he managed to choke out. "Run."

"I won't. Nick, I'm not leaving yo––"

The fox thrashed, and Judy was given a second to leap out of the way. She dove right into the plastic bushes of the exhibit, wincing as she landed on her bad leg. Nick was still on her tail.

 _No, that's not Nick,_ Judy chastised her own thoughts. There was no way that savage animal could be referred to her as her friend. Nick was somewhere in there. The fox chasing her wasn't him.

The fox pounced after her into the grass. Judy grabbed the closest thing she could find, some sort of stuffed animal, and launched it at the fox's face. It immediately earned his attention, white fangs digging into the fabric. Judy held back a gasp in horror.

She heard bellowing footsteps from above. The ZPD had arrived.

"Mayor, what's going on?" That was Chief Bogo.

"It's terrible, Chief!" shrieked Bellwether. Judy retched at the feigned fear. "A fox turned savage and attacked Officer Hopps! I grabbed the nearest weapon I could for protection. Chief, please! Shoot that fox down!"

In the corner of her eye, Judy saw Bellwether hand over the gun, still loaded with savage serum, to Bogo.

"Chief, no! Don't use that gun!"

"Hopps, get out of there."

"No, you don't understand!" Judy realized her mistake. From her shouts, she had redirected the fox's focus back to her. "The ammunition in that gun is what causes the animals to go savage!" She dropped to the ground just as Nick pounced, sending him flying over her head. Judy pivoted and bolted down in the opposite direction.

Bellwether snuck in worried chuckle. "Officer Hopps is a little delusional right now. She's not thinking straight."

"No, Chief, don't listen to her! Bellwether's behind everything. She's been planning to turn the prey population against the predators!" She yelped again as Nick came close to snapping her tail.

The hesitation on Chief Bogo's face was unmistakable. He was torn between the word of the mayor and one of his force's former top cops.

Judy had to take the risk. The pain on her bad leg shot through her with each step. She found the pen in her pocket and before she had a chance to think about where the fox was, pressed the button.

Bellwether's voice filled the hallway of the museum, rippling over the growls of the fox. _"And I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way."_

The small sheep paled. "Huh?"

Relief washed over Judy as she realized Chief Bogo was convinced by the evidence. But that second of distraction was fatal. The fox lunged at her, pinning her down. Judy kicked him back with strength she didn't even realize she possessed. "It's called a hustle, Bellwether," she said. Judy couldn't stop herself from looking at the fox as she said those words. "Right, Nick?"

His reply was a growl before he charged again. His fangs bared themselves into the flesh of Judy's bad leg. She screamed.

"Hopps!"

Chief Bogo's voice was followed by a small gun approaching her. Judy reached and caught the gun in her clumsy paws. She immediately recognized the tranquilizer gun. The fox pulled on her leg and Judy fought the urge to black out as she took aim.

"I'm sorry, Nick."

Judy pulled on the trigger. Right afterwards, Nick's body slumped to the floor, limp. Judy allowed herself to breathe. Resting herself on her arms, she looked up at Chief Bogo. "Thank you for letting me take the shot."

"It had to be you, Hopps," said Bogo. Judy spared the other members of the ZPD a glance as they cuffed Bellwether. She let out a little giddy laugh. Blood kept oozing out of her leg, still trapped between Nick's teeth. The aches and sores claimed her as Judy felt the gun slip free from her hold, finding herself collapsing onto the ground.

"Hopps!"

As the darkness descended upon her, Judy managed to keep her eyes on Nick, letting out a little giggle. "What do you think? Not bad for a dumb rabbit . . . right?"


	2. Chapter 2

I wasn't initially going to write more, but people seemed interested in getting more, so...here's more!

* * *

 _" . . . Bellwether . . . arrested . . . .mastermind . . . plagued Zootopia . . . of late . . ."_

Judy's acute ears picked up the vague messages that droned from the television. The words from the news anchor blended in her mind for a couple of moments as she carefully dragged herself back into the realm of consciousness.

Her eyes fluttered open, revealing dim lights and a cream colored ceiling. She shifted once, and every muscle in her screamed in protest. She groaned.

"Judy!"

The shout nearly made her wince, her ears not yet accustomed to the noise. As she looked up, Judy found herself facing the bright yellow fur and spots of a certain cheetah. "Clawhauser?" she grumbled. He must have been keeping an eye for her at the hospital.

The cheetah was halfway through a donut when she spoke. He quickly licked his fingers clean. "Judy, you're up! I gotta go tell the Chief. The media is buzzing about Bellwether's whole scheme, and every news agency in Zootopia is out to get an exclusive story with the cop that cracked the case."

"Media? What? Huh?" Judy hoisted herself up on the bed. The pain was constant, but at least it was light. But there was still quite the ache in her leg. She lifted up the blankets, finding her wounded leg wrapped in bandages.

There was a flash in her mind. That time when Gideon Grey attacked her, the shock of fear that filled her senses. The similar ram of panic once she realized Nick was trying to kill her.

Judy blinked those images away, instead focusing on her leg. She tried to move it, but it was terribly sore. "How bad is it?" she asked.

"Pretty bad. The doctor said it would take at least a few weeks to heal."

But as Judy's violet eyes stared at her injury, her mind had already wandered elsewhere. "Nick," she demanded. "Where's Nick? How is he?"

"The fox?" Clawhauser hesitated in his response. "He's . . . been better."

Judy practically leapt from the bed, ignoring the sting in her muscles. "Where is he?" She kept her eyes out for a crutch or a cane, just in case she had to get herself to Nick on her own.

"I'll take you to see him," said Clawhauser, revealing the wheelchair that he had been sitting in front of the whole time. While Judy was reluctant to let herself be rolled around, she realized that this was not the time to cause a fuss. Reluctantly, she hopped into the chair, and Clawhauser wheeled her out of her room.

Her floor of the hospital was quiet, and Judy soon realized that it was a ward that exclusively tended to members of the ZPD. She saw one or two other police in the hallway, dressed in uniform. Most likely to visit an injured comrade.

Judy remained silent as Clawhauser lead them into the elevator. He brought them up a couple of floors. When the elevator doors opened, a strange sense of ordered chaos filled Judy's ears. Doctors and nurses fled from room to room, white coats trailing behind them. A couple of others were having intense discussions or giving orders, staring intensely at their clipboards. Above the sounds of conversations, she could hear the shrieking, howling and scraping of predators.

They were still savage.

Clawhauser brought them pass Emmett Otterton, still seething with uncontrollable madness as he ripped apart the floor, eyes gleaming with wild bloodlust. She dared to glance towards Mr. Manchas's room. A collar was strapped to his neck, but he continued to pace back and forth. He snarled once, a low, dangerous rumble. It sent a shiver down Judy's spine.

They stopped at the next cell. As much as Judy wanted to deny it, she couldn't. The red fur, the emerald eyes. They were undeniably Nick Wilde. His gaze snapped to hers. Without warning, he lashed out, only to be stopped by a collar and glass. It was then Judy realized that they had muzzled him.

Her heart stilled. "Oh, Nick," she sighed, putting up a paw against the glass window. The fox thrashed against it. But Judy didn't move.

"Don't worry, Hopps. The doctors are working on an antidote to the Night Howler serum." The deep voice caught Judy off guard. Glancing up, she realized that Clawhauser had disappeared and in his place was Chief Bogo. The massive buffalo lowered his neck to look at her. It was no look of pity, but instead one of sympathy.

"I'm assuming he played an important role in cracking the case."

Judy sighed again. "Couldn't have done it without him." Finally, she drew her paw away, fully resting her back against the wheelchair. She really wished she could walk, show the Chief that she really wasn't some weak bunny.

"Get off that wheelchair and I'm not giving you back your badge," the Chief grunted, and Judy could have sworn that he was almost smiling. Bogo cleared his throat. "We already have a prototype antidote. And the moment the doctors perfect it, your fox friend is the first one that's going to get it."

Judy heaved a sigh of relief. She hadn't even realized she'd practically stopped breathing. "Thank you, Chief."

"Come on, Hopps. Back to your room."

"But I want to stay here."

"You need rest."

"Chief, I'm perfectly fin––"

"No bed, no badge."

Huffing in frustration, Judy relented. Bogo called Clawhauser back and she returned to her room. She saved herself some dignity by getting back under the blankets on her own. And to her own surprise, fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.

* * *

Nick felt as if he had been drifting through a void of red. It was all he could see, all he could hear, all he could sense. Scarlet red. Violent, savage, murderous red. It consumed him. He remembered rage. He remembered lashing out. He remembered a scream. He remembered Judy's crimson blood on his hands. His own damn hands.

 _Judy._

"Judy!" His eyes snapped open, and Nick bolted upright. His head was throbbing, as if he had repeatedly banged himself with a hammer. Nausea washed over him. But that hardly mattered.

"I'm right here."

And then he turned. And then he saw the rabbit next to him, her bright violet eyes smiling back at him.

"Carrots!"

"Sounds like someone had a nice nap."

Judy was here. She was well. She was alive. She was safe. Nothing could make Nick happier at the moment as he reached forward. But she flinched, and Nick froze. It was small and involuntary, an absolute reflex. Judy herself gasped, eyes widening as she realized what she did.

Nick tried to hug her. And she had jerked away from him.

"Oh my gods, Nick," she quickly said. "I'm so sorry. I didn't . . ."

Judy's words glazed in an out of Nick's ears. He remembered his own question to her, back at the press conference. _"Let me ask you something:_ _Are you afraid of me?"_ He let out a bittersweet scoff. It was a rhetorical question. But the answer was now obvious.

 _You should be._

Her paw was suddenly on his shoulder. The touch reminding him of how they were at the exhibit, right before he lost control, and how her soft paws was the last thing he had real memory of. He let out a disdainful snort, worried that Judy would shrink back again. She didn't.

"Nick," she began, her voice gentle. "It wasn't your fault."

"Of course it was. The plan didn't work."

"Yeah, but Bellwether's behind bars and the names of all the predators have been cleared."

Nick forced himself to avoid her eyes, and instead fixed his focus on her legs. Judy had been standing next to him, but don't think that he hadn't noticed the wheelchair that was tucked away in the corner of the room. Her leg was still bandaged, and the weight slanted onto her good calf.

The guilt was crushing. He was pretty sure it showed once he felt his posture slump. So much for not letting it on when anything got to him. "How is _that_ okay?"

"It'll be fine in a week or so," Judy insisted. "I've dealt with worse tripping over a shovel at the farm."

A smile threatened to form on his mouth at that. Always leave it to Judy to make him feel better. "Clumsy bunny."

Before Judy had a chance to quip back, Nick threw his arms her shoulders, keeping his first friend, his first _real_ friend, in a tight embrace. For a moment, she stiffened, and the worry crawled itself into Nick's chest. What if she was going to pull back again?

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "Judy, I'm so, so sorry."

She relaxed in his arms, and Nick felt her pat his back. "Oh, you foxes," Judy laughed. "Always so emotional."

It was impossible for him to not grin at that. "Stop quoting me."

"Not anytime soon."

"Just wait until I get my own carrot pen," Nick muttered, doing his best to sound unamused.

"Those cost quite a bit."

"That reminds me, don't I owe you a jumbo pop, too?"

"Yes, yes you do." That was when Judy slipped free of the hug, fishing around her pockets for a sheet of folded paper. "Here's another debt you need to go pay off." She unfolded the paper, revealing Nick's application for the police academy.

This time, he outright laughed, his heart feeling lighter than it had in . . . who knows how long. Judy may have given a messed up speech in front of a crowd and he may have gone savage. But he was pretty sure that they were going to be alright. Well, as alright as a fox and a bunny could ever be.

* * *

And...that's it! Very unlikely there's going to be more after this point. But if anyone has any Zootopia ideas they want me to write out, I might just give them a go! I do want to write some more, but my idea well is kind of dry right now.

Some comments from the last chapter said it ended too abruptly. I tried to fix that this time around...not sure how well it went, but oh well.


End file.
